Pakistan refutes India's allegations in Jadhav case

Pakistan on Tuesday filed a second counter-memorial on the conviction of retired Indian naval officer Kulbhushan Jadhav before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague.

As part of reply, they refuted Indian allegations that Jadhav's wife and mother were mistreated when they visited him last year, as reported by the Express Tribune.After the latest rounds of hearing the world court is likely to fix the matter for the hearing sometime next year.

"The ICJ has been asked to consider whether individuals suspected of espionage had in practice often been excluded from the right to consular access-an argument never raised or considered previously," Pakistan's legal agent in the case, Khawar Qureshi, who had drafted the second counter-memorial was quoted by the Express Tribune as saying.

On April 17, India had submitted a fresh set of pleadings in the ICJ. The pleadings were filed in response to Pakistan's submissions to the court, wherein they stated that Jadhav was not an ordinary person and does not fall under the purview of the Vienna Convention.

It may be recalled that India first approached the court on May 8 last year, for egregious violations of the provisions of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, 1963, by Pakistan in the matter.

The court, on May 18 last year, indicated provisional measures as requested by India and passed an order obligating Pakistan not to carry out the sentence that was awarded to Jadhav by Pakistan.

As per the court order, India had filed written pleadings (Memorial) in the case on September 13, 2017, and Pakistan filed its counter-memorial in December last year.Jadhav was arrested in Balochistan, Pakistan, over charges of alleged involvement in espionage and subversive activities for India's intelligence agency, Research and Analysis Wing (RAW).

India, however, maintains that Jadhav was a former naval officer and kidnapped from Iran, where he had business interests after retiring from the Indian Navy.

On April 10, 2017, Jadhav was sentenced to death by a Field General Court Martial (FGCM) in Pakistan.

Over a month later, the ICJ stayed the hanging after India approached it against the death sentence.